TravelStream™ news feed for member nrt_coulton on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/nrt_coulton en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:57:18 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1213307040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1213307040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1213307040/tpod.html Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:57:18 -0400 Latin American Diaries

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Puerto Iguazu, Litoral, Argentina

Arrived in Puerto Iguazu in Argentina following another one of those epic endless journeys of apprx 24hrs! south america is a big place!!!

unfortunately, weather wasnt great on day of arrival. Was oppresively grey (not used to grey skies anymore...) and really cold... jumpers back on. its a sign that we're going to be in trouble when we get back to england!

anyway decided not to adventure ourselves into the park that day, which was a good call as weather the next day was amazing! managed to cover the whole of the argentinian side! was incredible. waterfalls are gigantic. there were rainbows everywhere! so lots of cool shots!

weather reverted to nasty grey clouds the following day, so decided to skip the brazilian side, which was a shame, but not the end of the wolrd.

onwards to buenos aires!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1212014880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1212014880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1212014880/tpod.html Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:38:52 -0400 Latin American Diaries

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Paraty, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Paraty

Left Fabiola in Rio... sad to have to say goodbye as Fabiola made Brazil so good for us! obrigado por tudo Fabiolita! more to the point, we were now alone in portugese speaking lands, which was going to be challenging.

Anyway, headed back south to paraty, a lovely little colonial town to enjoy some last moments on the beach before heading south back to the colder climate of argentina.

paraty is beautiful... very colourful. Once again, we were blessed with good weather throughout our stay there.

mainly spent time discovering lovely little beaches around paraty and visiting the town itself. I (nick) ended up making a very random purchase: a berimbau, an instrument used when playing capoeira! but really love it, so happy to have bought it... but completely impractical to carry around, esp. as we are now getting seriously overloaded!

so thats it for paraty. we survived despite the portugese. said goodbye to the beautiful beaches of brazil and set off towards the gigantic iguazu falls on the border with argentina!

suerte!

Nick and Audrey
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1211409600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1211409600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1211409600/tpod.html Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:43:44 -0400 Latin American Diaries

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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1211040000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1211040000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1211040000/tpod.html Sun, 25 May 2008 08:33:51 -0400 Latin American Diaries

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Angra Dos Reis, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Ihla Grande is amazing!

Used to be a pirate island, then was used as a leper colony and finally as a prison until 1994... as a result, it is still relatively undeveloped. The island is covered with over 100 beaches and beautiful forest / jungle.

Spent 4 days there exploring the island. at times it really felt like we were on the set for Lost (the TV show). Especially around the abandoned prison buildings and ghost towns around the island. Very cool indeed!

The beaches were awesome too. discovered loads of amazing places, most notably Dios Rios!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1210694400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1210694400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1210694400/tpod.html Sat, 24 May 2008 20:22:52 -0400 Latin American Diaries

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Cabo Frio, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Finally in Brazil with Fabiolita! took a long 24hr journey from salta in argentina! but its amazing! great weather and a wonderful welcome from fabiola and her mum in Cabo Frio!

Was a bit of a shock being in a portugese speaking country after 2 and half months in spanish speaking places... we would have been very lost had it not been for fabiola´s detailed step by step instructions on how we could get to cabo frio! obrigado fabiola!

So time to relax! and what a place to relax! the sun was shining (28degC)... the beach is amazing with blinding white sand and the hotel breakfast was something to remember!

1st day, found 30 young blonde norwegians practicing capoeira on the beach... shame that christophe wasnt with us anymore! audrey could finally enojy the sun with fabiola so very happy!

other than relaxing in cabo frio, we also made it to arraial where we swam with sea turtles! amazing experience! and also made it to buzios, the st tropez of brazil... the girls almost wnet crazy with all the clothe shops there... ws quite an impressive place!

anyway, cabo frio and around was a great introduction to brazil. next stop is ihla grande, where fabiola has planned more good times!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1210027140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1210027140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1210027140/tpod.html Sun, 18 May 2008 20:00:25 -0400 Latin American Diaries

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San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

sHey!

We are back after long vacation!

Well, let me tell you about the after Bolivia desert trip.

We went to Chile, San Pedro de Atacama, very hippy bohemian whatever you like. We were so happy to go back to descent temperatures like 20 degres, the sun and people happy to talk to you, more than the Bolivians from the highlands who were quite rough and not really talkative.

We stayed in a nice hostal, clean and stuff so it was luxury after the trauma of sleeping with -20 degres in the desert! But how expensive it was compare to Bolivia, what a shock!

Anyway the best thing we did there was a night tour to watch the stars... yes, we had a 2 hours lecture (funny cos a mid forty french guy was the guide) about the sky at night and how to understand how this works: Constellations, Galaxies, planets..etc Very interesting and we got to watch lots of planets and stuff on massive telescopes. Saturn was mas favorite, it was so clear that we all had to check the lense to see if he didn´t draw on it!

The next day we left for Salta (Argentina) with a Chilean guy (Pancho) who is a real character: basically he wants to be a Yogi so very spiritual and different sharing the trip with him was revelating for some of us...like me who don´t eat meat anymore...( it´s full of bad and dead energies you see..)

All this was real fun, and for me it is a step close to Argentina and Bresil, my favorites!!

Ciao!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1209744000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1209744000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1209744000/tpod.html Sun, 18 May 2008 19:49:54 -0400 Latin American Diaries

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Uyuni, Uyuni, Bolivia

Uyuni

Decided to expedite our time in bolivia after the tourist vultures of copabacana, the fumes of La Paz and the evil fruit flies of Coroico, so we headed straight for Uyuni, skipping both Sucre and Potosi.

The trip down to Uyuni involved taking an overnight 12hr bus ride. Was without a doubt the coldest and most uncomfortable bus ride of our lives. We were at the back of a bus bombing it down rocky dirt roads with absolutely no suspension through the night. Managed to get approx 10min of sleep. When the sun came up, we suddenly realised that a thick layer of ice had formed on the inside of the bus windows!

Anyway, Uyuni is the starting point of tours across the amazing bolivian salt flats and desert in the south west of the country. Booked a tour with Expediciones Lipez, who turned out to be very good. Thanks Lino and Ana!

Spent the next 4 days touring round various locations in south west of bolivia. was amazing! saw the salt flats, the cactus island, hiked up Volcano Tunupa (5400m), saw the flamingos at various colourful lakes, crossed the desert, and had to survive in incredibly basic hostels in -20degC temperatures... was really cool. without a doubt, some of the most amazing landscapes in world!

Finished by crossing the border into Chile. so its goodbye to bolivia (much to Audrey's delight!) Next stop Sna Pedro de Atacama to find a bit more warmth, eat some good food and generally recharge the batteries.

Suerte!

Audrey and Nick
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1211150520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1211150520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1211150520/tpod.html Sun, 18 May 2008 19:32:39 -0400 Latin American Diaries

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Salta, Northern Argentina, Argentina

Finally arrived in Argentina! How sweeet! the contrast with Bolivia is ridiculous. Suddenly back in a European style city with European style food!! sweet!

Met up straight away with a french friend we met in puno and one of her friends and decided to embark on a 3 day road trip south of salta to explore some of the quebradas around the area... so we rented a car and headed off towards Cafayate. unfortunately for christophe he was the only one with a driving license... so the rest of us could relax whilst he tackled the windy roads for 3 days! gratias chris!

weather on the 1st day wasnt great... and in addition one of our tyres went flat within 20min. 1st garage couldnt figure out what was wrong, so just pumped it up and set us off. 20min later, the tyre was flat again! so headed off to another garage and found out the alloy had a hairline fracture and was leaking air... so got the garage guys to sort it out in their own way with their rudimentory tools and it worked. cost us 3quid... as opposed to 300quid it would had cost in the UK! so pretty pleased with that, although we lost half a day and missed out on seeing much of the landscape.

next day the weather was great so made the most of it and backtracked to see the Quebrada das Conchas with more sun and it was amazing. multicoloured rock faces... red, brown, purple, green, orange, etc... pretty impressive.

The rest of the drive was very long and rough. the roads were in a really poor state. the landscape was nice but less impressive. but we had a laugh anyway with everyone playing various games along the way (le mafieux pour ce qui connaissent)!

next stop brazil!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1209348900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1209348900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1209348900/tpod.html Sat, 10 May 2008 00:35:49 -0400 Latin American Diaries

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Coroico, Coroico, Bolivia

Ola tutti!

Coroico, was a bit of fresh air for us after la Paz and its pollution and craziness!

Well done to the guys who survived the death road on bicycles! I have to say that I was rather glad to be unwell with altitude sickness and not be able to do it because after all the accidents and people telling us we were crazy to comtemplate to do it ...beuhh! So what was my surprise when on the way back to la Paz after our 3 days in Coroico the minibus took the death road instead of the safe new one!!! Scary experience, I was thinking if I don´t die today, my mum is going to kill me anyway for having taken this road... Please mum don´t kill me..

Anyway, 3 days in the sun of Coroico in a hostal owned by a french lady who cooked us tiramisu and nice trout. We played cards and chatted to a french couple who travelled around the world for one year and to our surprise they hated Australia (" The burgers are too big and the lasagnas come with chips!!") Duhh isn´t it everybody´s dream??

We also met a french lady who lived in Coroico for 20 years and took us to the river and waterfalls for the afternoon. Was great apart the fruit flies that mistook our ankles for bananas... I was so swollen and itching that i could not sleep for one night.

It was a nice break, but we had to go back to la Paz for the next adventure i the salt flats near Uyuni!

To b continued

A xx
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1209680880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1209680880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/nrt_coulton/1/1209680880/tpod.html Sat, 10 May 2008 00:22:15 -0400 Latin American Diaries

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La Paz, La Paz, Bolivia

La Paz!

Came into La Paz along impressive road from Copacabana, driving along the Cordillera Real and its snowy mountains... then arrived in La PAz which is located in some gigantic canyon! really impressive to see it from up top.

Not much to report other than a bit of shopping for cheap jumpers.

We were staying right in the centre and can only say that its intense... people everywhere, buses spewing out big clouds of smoke everywhere, market stores, etc... didnt feel particularly safe, so didnt dare wander around with our cameras... so no photos.

bizarelly spent our time in La Paz searching for some home comforts... managed to find a great english bar for fry ups! so bacon and eggs it was every morning! ended watching some of the football too (Champions League) and things got even more out of hand in the bar than they do in England! the Chelsea fans went on a rampage through the bar!

anyway, the main activity involed the cycling down the infamous Death Road. We werent intending on taking part initially, but everyone we talked to convinced us otherwise. Audrey wasnt feeling well so she took the bus to meet us at the end of the trip in Coroico.

Christophe and I therefore embarked on the downhill ride taking us approx 3500m down in altitude over the space of approx 70km... road is officially most dangerous in the world, 200 deaths (buses and lorries, not cyclists) a year over a specific 36km stretch with drops up to 600m to the side of the track.

Chris and I were treated to a perfect day! and the cycle down went as smoothly as possible. Went with company called Gravity, which we can highly recommend! Awesome. Ended up in an animal reserve with spider monkets, squirrel monkeys, capuchin monkeys, howler monkeys, all kinds of other animals (parrots, coatis, boards, snakes, ...). So very cool indeed!

Met up with audrey in coroico... felt good to be in the warmer climate of the jungle. the surroundings were stunning with beautiful valleys covered wth thick jungle. wow! time to relax!
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